By Ms Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor of Miami-Dade County (USA) and Mr Claudio Orrego, Governor of the Santiago Metropolitan Region (Chile) – Water Champions of the Resilient Cities Network (R-Cities)
Discussions on climate change can often have apocalyptic undertones that make solutions seem too complex or out of reach. However, the solutions are within reach especially if we work together. We, as leaders of two major cities in the Americas facing some of the toughest climate challenges, would like to share the ways in which we are addressing this emergency as we work to keep our cities thriving. In our case, one common challenge is water. In Miami-Dade, we expect sea levels to rise 2 feet by 2060, which will cause ripples throughout our entire water system and amplify our existing flooding risks; and in Santiago, the melting of Andean glaciers will drastically reduce water availability. If we as leaders do nothing, these projections could well become our nightmare. If we do nothing, any idea of a future in our cities would disappear. But if we continue proactively implementing adaptation measures that protect our infrastructure and the people that live in our communities, we can creatively reimagine the places we call home to become thriving future ready regions.
The impact of the climate emergency on the water cycle is not difficult to grasp. Either there is too much or too little or it is too polluted. The increasing frequency of rainfall, storms, floods, droughts and other extreme weather events is having a devastating impact on communities around the world. In response to this, in Miami-Dade and the Santiago Region, we had to make decisions that would have been unthinkable or not a priority just a few years ago. Today, they are considered the most sensible option.
The case of Miami-Dade
Miami-Dade sits in a very delicate natural environment influenced by the Everglades and Biscayne Bay. The water we drink comes from the Biscayne Aquifer, a complex underground water system replenished through wetlands, which act as filtration systems, removing impurities. Through our “One Water Strategy”, we aim to recycle all surface water, utilizing storm water in the running of our watershed, our river basins, canals, and our coastal waters.
In addition, with aging infrastructure and rising sea levels, the risk of septic tanks failing increases. In 2022, we launched Connect 2 Protect, the County’s approach to extending sanitary sewer service to residents with septic systems in order to protect properties, health, and natural areas such as Biscayne Bay. At the same time, we are optimizing our data-driven management by sensor-tracking storm water and wastewater. And two key adaptation approaches from our Sea Level Rise Strategy are to build on fill (raising land on artificial fills) and to elevate buildings on pilings similar to the way homes are built in the Florida Keys. In essence, we are learning to live with more water.
The case of Santiago de Chile
When we developed our resilience strategy in Santiago in 2018 – 2020, we did not anticipate that water would be our main challenge. Chile is enduring the most severe drought in decades with no sign of ending. 2022 was the 5th driest year in history, with 42.5% of the region’s municipalities being declared in hydric emergency. At the same time, the region’s aquifers are being depleted at a faster rate than they are being recharged, while the country’s Andean glaciers continue in an irreversible melting process due to rising global temperatures. And we simply cannot relocate 8 million people, which is why we launched the first Water Emergency Commission in the metropolitan region; we developed the first-ever protocol for water rationing, and we are developing a framework that will allow us to improve reuse of water. We are currently implementing a pilot program in ten rural schools. Israel, for example, already reuses 80%. As a regional government, we are funding 30 municipal water strategies. We have changed our financial requirements and now a municipality cannot receive regional funds unless it complies with our specific Hydric Efficiency Criteria. In essence, we are learning to live with less water.
Cities and water resilience
There is no one-size-fits-all response to the challenges we are facing today. What we do know is that we urgently need to incorporate the concept of resilience into urban water management. Urban water resilience is the ability of the water system to function so that citizens, especially the more vulnerable, survive and thrive despite the stresses and shocks they face. It is clear to us that the time has come to radically rethink the way we manage our cities. Today. Not tomorrow. Otherwise, the impact of climate change is set to undermine decades of growth and progress.
Urban water resilience, however, does not exist in a vacuum. Cities are not administering water efficiently, mainly due to policy, governance, leadership, and market failures. Resilient–Cities Network and its partners have developed the City Water Resilience Approach which helps leaders to understand the risks they face, and improve the way they plan, manage and maintain their water system. Effective water governance will make the difference between cities that adapt and thrive, and those that do not.
The UN Water Conference 2023
The UN Water Conference 2023 was the first gathering of world leaders in nearly 50 years to discuss the pressing issue of water security. Through various panel sessions, it highlighted that cities in coordination with regional and national governments have a key role to play. While political leadership is necessary, it is also true that cities’ demands for new infrastructure and innovative solutions, come at a cost. How will they be paid for? Financing flows have long remained below the levels needed and this continues to be a major obstacle. That is why we, the leaders of Miami-Dade and the Santiago Metropolitan Region, together with the Resilient Cities Network, are calling on all stakeholders to engage in concerted action on multiple fronts in an urgent mobilization of funds and resources needed to accelerate and scale up bold water action in cities around the world. We cannot postpone this any longer.
What is certain is that if we do nothing those terrifying predictions so often made could well bring our cities to their knees. And this need not happen. What is even more certain is that our response requires a new vision of city management and an unshakable commitment to the future. In Miami-Dade and the Santiago Metropolitan Region that is precisely what we are doing. In essence, taking on the challenges, investing adequately in resilience so we adapt to this new reality, turning threats into opportunities and growing in a sustainable way. For us, that is the only way forward.
